Knife Making Kits

T

Thrower15

Joined
Feb 14, 2011
Messages
8
Hello,

From the name of the thread you can tell i am very green when it comes to making knives. I have heard that a good way to start is by purchasing a kit and working your way up through this type of "build by numbers" style of knife making.

Does anyone have any suggestions as so where i can get a good knife making kit?

Thanks
 
Thrower15 said:
Hello,

From the name of the thread you can tell i am very green when it comes to making knives. I have heard that a good way to start is by purchasing a kit and working your way up through this type of "build by numbers" style of knife making.

Does anyone have any suggestions as so where i can get a good knife making kit?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The sticky at the top has a list of suppliers, all big supply houses have kit blades
Jantz
Texas
Knife-kits
Sheffield
USAknifemaker


http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736



and this will be useful for you.

Have you seen this ?

The Standard Reply to New Knifemakers v12

The answer to a 13 year old student is different than to a 40 year old engineer.
We may recommend a local supplier, or you may have a helpful neighbour; but that depends on where you are. We have members worldwide.
Fill out your profile with your location (Country and State at least), age, education, employment.

Look at the threads stickied at the top; many are expired, but not all.

The basic process in the simplest terms

Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Printable PDF
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Website


Web Tutorials
Detailed instructions by Stacy E.Apelt

The Things I Advise New Knife Makers Against-Printable PDF

Handle Tutorial - Nick Wheeler-Website

http://www.engnath.com/manframe.htm

Books

A list of books and videos on the KnifeDogs Forum
http://www.knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=5285

BladeForums - E-books or Google books
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203

I like:
David Boye-Step by Step Knifemaking
Tim McCreight-Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman
These are clear, well organized, widely available and inexpensive too.

Knife Design:
On the Google books thread, you can find
Lloyd Harding drawings
and
the Loveless book with large variety of proven classic styles.
Google books thread


Forging Books:
Lorelei Sims-The Backyard Blacksmith
An excellent modern book with colour photos for forging in general - no knifemaking.

Jim Hrisoulas- has 3 books on forging knives. Check for the cheaper paperback editions.
The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection
The Pattern-Welded Blade: Artistry in Iron
The Master Bladesmith: Advanced Studies in Steel

Machine Shop Basics -Books:
Elementary Machine Shop Practice-Printable PDF

The Complete Practical Machinist-Printable -1885-PDF
It’s being reprinted now, you can get it for $20 ish


The $50 knife Shop
It confused me for a long time.
Forging is NOT necessary; you can just file and grind to create a knife (stock removal)

The goop quench is total Bull, commercial quench oils are available, even grocery store canola oil works much better.

Junkyard steels require skill and experience to identify the steel and heat treat it properly.
You can buy proper steel like 1084FG from Aldo very cheaply.

I like cable damascus, but that advanced project has no place in a beginner’s book.

The home built grinders are the best thing about this book, but there is now a huge amount of info for 2x72” belt grinders on the web, including free plans.


Videos

Heat Treating Basics Video-downloadable
Right click and save this. Watch it once a day for 10 days and you will understand it much better.
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4

Many specific how to knifemaking videos are available, some are better than others.

The best overall Knifemaking video I have seen is
“Steve Johnson-Making a Sub-Hilt Fighter”

The best video on leather sheath making I have seen is
“Custom Knife Sheaths -Chuck Burrows - Wild Rose”
-(Paul Long has 2 new videos, his sheath work is fantastic. I hope the videos are too)

Green Pete's Free Video
Making a Mora bushcraft knife, stock removal, hand tools, neo tribal / unplugged heat treat.
"Green Pete" posted it free using torrent files.
Be sure to look at the other titles too.

Greenpete Knifemaking Basics-on TPB

You can see a list of videos and reviews at this rental company; some are worth buying, some renting…
They are slow to get new titles and wait times are measured in months,
http://smartflix.com/store/category/9/Knifemaking


Draw Filing Demonstration
YouTube video -Draw Filing-for a flat finish

Steel
The “welding steel” at Home Depot / Lowes… is useless for knives.
If you send out for heat treating, you can use O1, A2, D2, CM154, ATS34, s30v, 440C, plus many others.

If you heat treat yourself, find some 1070, 1080, 1084,
1084 FG sold by Aldo Bruno is formulated just for knifemaking.
http://njsteelbaron.com/
Ph# 862-203-8160

You can find a list of suppliers here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736


Heat Treating
You can send blades out for heat treating at $10 or $15 per blade for perfect results, and avoid buying the equipment.

This PDF brochure gives a good overview
http://www.buckknives.com/resources/pdf/Paul_Bos_Brochure.pdf

http://www.petersheattreat.com/cutlery.html
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/privacy.php#services
http://www.knifemaker.ca/ (Canadian)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9143684&postcount=7

Grinder / Tools

Hand Tools
You can do it all by hand with files and abrasive cloth like the Green Pete video.

Photo of a nice bevel filing jig .
http://www.flemingknives.com/imagesPrime/FileStation/KPicB007.jpg

Entry Level Grinders
Many makers start with the Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921513000P?prdNo=3

Commercial Production 2 x 72” Belt Grinders
http://www.prometheanknives.com/shop-techniques-3/grinders

Mapp arm – Grinder Toolrest
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466024


DIY 2 x 72” Belt Grinders

KMG Clone
Free Plans
http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf

NWG No Weld Grinder
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/plans-for-the-no-weld-grinder-sander-nearly-50-pages-p-723.html

EERF Grinder (EERF =“Free” backwards)
Free plans
http://wilmontgrinders.com/EERFGrinder.aspx
http://blindhogg.com/blueprints.html
http://www.atlasknife.com


Buy the kit
http://polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html


Safety Equipment
I have a sign at my shop door, “Eyes, Ears, Fingers, Lungs” as a reminder to take off jewelry and put on my safety gear.

Respirators

bladsmth said:
Those paper paint masks are about as effective as using a sock for a condom.
Click to expand...

The minimum I would consider are the 3M and North silicone half masks;
even better are the powered positive pressure fresh air systems.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=788837
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=726309


V12 Edited dead links
 
Welcome! Everything you need to you was listed above but here is my 2 cents.

Get a fixed blade for sure. If the handle does not have a lot of "inside" curves, it will be easier that way. A blocky handle is easier.

I started making knives by making a mild steel bottle opener with an oak handle. I got everything but the pins at the hardware store. It wasn't a knife but It was a cheap easy way to start plus you get to learn lots of basics that way.
 
Don't do it! Just turn around and walk away from the computer and never come back to this forum again if you know what's good for you and your bank account. Do something reasonable like doing heroin just don't start messing around making knives. You tell yourself, "Hey, it's ONLY a handle, one stinkin' little handle. Ain't no big thing. I can quit any time I want."

It's a good thing you didn't tell us anything about yourself in your profile. The less we know about you the less we'll want to respond. But don't think anyone here is gonna help you kick the habit when you finally wise up. All they're gonna do is tell you "Nice job! I think you could round off those sharp angles on the handle and you wouldn't bleed so much when you hold it." and give you information and encouragement to KEEP YOU HOOKED! They would probably pass out decks of cards at a gamblers anonymous meeting.


So,... What kind of knife are you thinking about?

- LonePine
Alias Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
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Knife kits sure are fun, my first knife was just a blank I purchased from eBay and then I scrounged everything else together from what I had. I used some dried unstabilized myrtle wood from my (late) grandfathers shop, some brass rod from Ace Hardware, I already had the epoxy, files, sandpaper and Tru-Oil. I think I got away with around $25 bucks for it, and I can call it a semi custom!

Paul sure is right about this being a highly addictive hobby. Next thing you know you are going to be spending long hours in the garage, alone, talking to yourself, chasing the perfect mirror polish, getting that hair whittling sharp edge, building an etcher, figuring out what to sell so you can buy a grinder. Do you really need that 52" TV, you wont have time to watch it anyways, and its worth about what a grinder costs. I think I buy sandpaper more often than I buy toilet paper now. Just dont confuse the two!

Have fun and be sure to fill out your profile, and post it up here when you start it, have questions, and are finished. The sticky at the top for how to make a knife is a good one, just start at the handle section in your case.


Enjoy!
-Xander
 
Welcome to the BF.
Fill out your profile so we know a bit about you and where you are. I highly recommend starting with kit knives. Especially if you have limited skills, equipment, resources, time, and funds.

I can make pretty much any knife I want from scratch, but still use a lot of kits to do customized folders. It saves me a lot of time on the simpler parts ( like liners and bolsters), and provides a consistent foundation for artistic creativity. For $400-500 in the kits and some parts, I can make ten identical shaped DDR-2 folders that are still all quite different. I can sell them for as much as $2500 in the extreme modification and embellishment, and for $100-200 for simpler mods. The savings in time allows me to make ten knives where I could only make half that from scratch.
For $60-90 in a kit and some parts, you can convert a DDR3-BL into a fancy fileworked auto, worth $400. The tools and supplies required will all fit in a shoe box. It does take some skill, but that can be learned by starting simple and working up to more complex mods.

My favorite kits to modify are the DDR-2 ( AKA 605-mini), the DDR3-BL, and the SS-2.0

Knifekits.com has superb kits from easy enough for a 7 year old to do...up to medium advanced kits. From there you can start customizing them and doing severe modifications. On some occasions, all I use is the liners.

Knifekits also sells the tools, supplies, instructional materials, and parts for most knife projects. Jantz is my second favorite parts supplier.

I am finishing up about forty folders and autos for the Harrisonburg show. I'll post some photos in a few days to show the degree of customization possible from a kit.
http://www.svkc.org/annual_show
 
Agreed!! This was my first kit and I've never looked back since!

Texas Skinner w/ Cryo from TKS.

DSCN1983.jpg

DSCN1985.jpg

DSCN2115.jpg

DSCN2117.jpg

DSCN2123.jpg

DSCN2127.jpg
 
I know people dog the diamondwood, but i love it when those colors come out while working it.
 
Thanks for all the support guys. I have filled out my profile now so take a look. I think i am going to order a kit within the next week and hopefully get started soon. It will definetly be a fixed kit for the first few. I will post some progress once i have begun.
 
I appreciate that James...it was my first and I screwed up on it to boot! There should have been a nice section of red in the center of that charcoal black. BUT, I got in a hurry with all the wrong tools and had a bad chip out when drilling. So, to get past it, I had to sand off my red center. Then keeping that red line the same width all the way around AND on the opposite side of the blade was fun too ;)
 
Dymonwood is BAD "chippy" and will tear out in chunks if you machine it too fast. You have to be careful when drilling it and when dealing with harsh angles. But it can look really nice when finished, and it's very durable.
 
bladsmth said:
Welcome to the BF.
For $400-500 in the kits and some parts, I can make ten identical shaped DDR-2 folders that are still all quite different. I can sell them for as much as $2500 in the extreme modification and embellishment, and for $100-200 for simpler mods. The savings in time allows me to make ten knives where I could only make half that from scratch.
For $60-90 in a kit and some parts, you can convert a DDR3-BL into a fancy fileworked auto, worth $400. The tools and supplies required will all fit in a shoe box. It does take some skill, but that can be learned by starting simple and working up to more complex mods.

My favorite kits to modify are the DDR-2 ( AKA 605-mini), the DDR3-BL, and the SS-2.0

http://www.svkc.org/annual_show
Click to expand...

The only kit I have bought was a DDR-2, I better get to work on it!
 
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